Prep Football Previews: Dayton has key pieces it needs to pursue first winning season since 2020

By Chad Hensley
NKyTribune sports reporter

With just one senior gone from last season, fans of the Dayton football team are expecting a strong showing from their veteran team in 2026, beginning with the opener against Gallatin County.

Jesse Herbst will start his eighth season as Greendevils’ head coach with one of the more veteran teams that you’ll see at the Class 1A level in Kentucky. Twenty of the 36 rostered players are listed as juniors or seniors.

Despite being so young over the last two varsity seasons that saw his team go a combined 5-17, Herbst thinks that “gained experience” will help this season’s efforts.

“Over the past two seasons, the majority of our current juniors and seniors played in seven to eight junior varsity through freshman/froshmore games each season,” Herbst said. “They’ve done that along with starting, or majorly contributing, in every varsity game each season. These guys have played a ton of football over the past two years, getting bigger, stronger and better.”

One player who has shined in those games is Malachi Kennedy, a 6-foot, 190-pound junior running back who has rushed for 2,011 yards and scored 178 points over the last two varsity seasons. His team-high offensive totals last season were 1,509 yards rushing, 274 yards receiving and 154 points.

“As a sophomore last season, Malachi was the best athlete on the field in every game we played,” said Herbst. “This year he is another year bigger, stronger and faster. With the supporting cast around Malachi this year, we expect an even bigger season than last.”

Herbst’s biggest but most welcomed problem will be who to get the ball to should teams try to focus in on Kennedy. The main options are senior quarterback Landan Harris and senior running back Elias Lopez-Harris, who’s returning from a shoulder injury that limited him to seven games last year.

Junior running back Mykah Foster and transfers Kaden Anderson and Amillion Brown give the Dayton offense other weapons on any given play.

“There’s only one football and several athletes who want it,” Herbst said. “We will be a much more dynamic, multiple-I offense.”

Lopez-Torres will lead the Dayton defensive unit. Last year, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior linebacker posted team-highs in total tackles (84) and fumble recoveries (three) despite playing in just seven games.

“Elias brings a high-energy, exciting-to-be-around personality that is extremely contagious,” Herbst said. “Many of our young players have caught this attitude from him and we hope it keeps spreading. He overflows with positivity.”

Speaking of positives, the offensive and defensive lines feature veteran players that include seniors Robin Scott, Robbie Messer and Ismael “Rocket” Longoria-Barnes along with juniors Malik Hines and Eddie Holmes.

“Fortunately, over the past two years, we have been growing and training a core of junior and senior offensive and defensive linemen that we are going to be leaning on all season,” the coach said.

The key pieces are there for the Greendevils to have their first winning season since finishing 5-4 in 2020. One other major factor is the avid support of the the Dayton community that got a major boost when the school opened its on-campus stadium last year.

“Dayton High School, the City of Dayton, and Dayton football are going nowhere but up,” said Herbst. “Dayton is a future giant in Class A football in the state of Kentucky, and this season, we have the opportunity to do something special and catapult our town, school and program to the top of KHSAA Class A for many seasons to come.”